New Delhi, 07 February 2025: On the occasion of the completion of six months rule by Dr Mohammed Yunus today, the Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) released its report, “Bangladesh: The Case for Establishing OHCHR Field Office” and highlighted increasing human rights violations including weaponisation of the justice system against political opponents, heightened crackdown on the media, increased attacks on minorities and indigenous peoples, and the weaponisation of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement by Dr Yunus government to perform illegal tasks. The RRAG called upon the UN Human Rights Council to pass a resolution for the establishment of country office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bangladesh during its 58th Session from 24 February to 4 April 2025 in Geneva. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk after conclusion of his country visit to Bangladesh on 30 October 2024 had “called for a strengthened presence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to support the transition process including by offering advice on legal, institutional, economic and social reforms, transitional justice, reconciliation, and healing.” Dr Yunus’ government has so far spurned the UN by not allowing the establishment of OHCHR country offices.
On the weaponisation of justice system against political opponents, the RRAG stated that as per Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation based in Dhaka, a total of 504,208 persons allegedly associated with previous Hasina government including 74,224 persons named and 429,996 persons unnamed, were accused in about 1,520 cases by 31 January 2025.
A total of 348 journalists were targeted including filing of 21 criminal cases against 147, money laundering investigation against 34 journalists and denial of accreditation to 167 journalists, addition to the Anti Discrimination Students Movement violently attacking independent dailies, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo and forcing the investors of Somoy TV to sack five journalists. Yunus’ government also continues to use the draconian Cyber Security Act of 2023 under which 24 persons were arrested in 34 cases during 2024.
Independence of judiciary has been undermined by the removal of 21 Supreme Court and High Court judges through protests of the Anti Discrimination Students Movement including six Supreme Court judges on 10 August 2024, 12 High Court judges on 16 October 2024 and three High Court judges on 19 November 2024.
“Dr Yunus’ government has created a compliant judiciary where judges cannot deliver judgment without considering threats to personal safety and security. Furthermore, all members of the National Human Rights Commission were forced to resign on 7 November 2024 with no new member of NHRC appointed. There are simply no mechanisms for justice in Bangladesh”- stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of the RRAG.
There is little or no improvement regarding the enjoyment of the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly with effective ban on the Awami League’s political activities through banning of its students wing, Chhatra League while indigenous peoples and religious minorities had faced serious and systematic attacks for organising the ‘March For Identity’ at Khagrachari district on 18 September 2024; at Laldighi Ground, Chittagong on 25 October 2024; at Rangpur on 22 November 2024; and before the NCTB in Dhaka on 15 January 2025 while protesting against the removal of a graffiti with the word “Adivasi” (indigenous) from the textbooks. Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari remains under incarceration from 25 November 2024 under trumped up sedition charges to send a clear message to the indigenous peoples and minorities against organising peaceful assemblies while the Inquiry Commission report into the attacks on indigenous peoples on 18-19 September 2024 in Khagrachari and Rangamati districts has not been made public as on date.
”Over 2,000 incidents of attacks on religious minorities, in particular, the Hindus between 4 and 20 August 2024 were reported but Dr Yunus dismissed them as politically motivated in September 2024. Thereafter, the Bangladesh Police effectively manufactured the justification for the averments made by Dr Yunus on 10 January 2025 by claiming that of the 1,254 complaints of attacks on the Hindus substantiated, 1,234 incidents (98.4%) were politically motivated, and 20 cases (1.59%) were communal in nature.” – also stated Mr Chakma.
“The single most important threat to Bangladesh is the weaponisation of the Anti Discrimination Students Movement (ADSM) by Dr Yunus to establish mob rule with the students carrying out the tasks illegally which cannot be done by the Interim Government legally. Whether it is seeking resignation of the judges or intimidating political opponents, burning down of the headquarters of the Jatiya Party in capital Dhaka or demolition of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s residence at Dhanmondi 32, Hasnat Abdullah, Convenor of the ADSM was ubiquitous. Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus is no longer only an enabler of the mob rule but increasingly turning himself into a mobster. Therefore, 131% increase in mob lynching death during 2024 in comparison to 2023 with 128 deaths in 2024 and 51 deaths in 2023 is not surprising”. – further stated Mr Chakma.
The RRAG warned that “Bangladesh is all but set to implode, and justice shall become the victim if the OHCHR country office is not established with a proper decision of the UN Human Rights Council during its 58th Session. Because of the grave and systematic human rights violations committed under Yunus’ government and impunity given to the protestors who also murdered at least 44 policemen during the July-August 2024 uprising, human rights violations under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime have been overshadowed.” [ENDS] RRAG : Rights and Risks Analysis Group, New Delhi
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